Raw Sugar Prices Recoupe May 2012 Cocoa Prices Drop

Raw sugar prices recouped the day's sharp losses, on late-day buying. Prospect of a large center-south crop in top producer and exporter Brazil has kept the market on the defensive for most of the session, analysts said.

"I think we'll stay here for a while and if there is really a large Brazilian (sugar) crop, we can go under 20 cents," said The Price Group analyst Jack Scoville.

More pressure can also come from market ideas that the sugar crop in India, the world's No. 2 producer, will again exceed 20 million tonnes in the 2012/13 season.

India's sugar exports have already placed prices under the gun the past few weeks, traders said.

May raw sugar on ICE inched up 0.11 cent, or 0.5 percent, to close at 23.77 cents a lb, after falling to a one-month low at 23.26 cents.

Dealers said supplies remained ample with most analysts expecting a second consecutive global surplus in 2012/13.

London May white sugar futures jumped $6.20, or 1 percent, to end at $631.70 per tonne.

Cocoa prices were modestly lower.

The market was increasingly focused on mid-crop quality and weather in West Africa, noting the current conditions appeared generally beneficial, dealers said.

Farmers and analysts said Ivory Coast's cocoa growing regions received a good mix of sun and rain last week, improving prospects for the April-to-September mid-crop harvest.

May cocoa on ICE dropped $27, or 1.1 percent, to settle at $2,383 per tonne, while May cocoa on Liffe fell 8 pounds, or 0.5 percent, to finish at 1,548 pounds a tonne.

The opening times for ICE coffee and cocoa futures, and the settlement window for cocoa are delayed through March 23, due to the start of Daylight Savings Time in the United States.

Category: Cocoa, cocoa commodity, cocoa prices, may 2012 cocoa, raw sugar 2012, Sugar, sugar commodity, sugar prices, white sugar price